For Ursula

[itsapirateslife]

There was an apartment somewhere in the city for him. How very kind of this particular curse to provide, he thought to himself bitterly. And a curse it was indeed. It may not be one of the Evil Queen or Peter Pan's doing, but it was keeping Hook from where he needed to be and that counted as a curse in his mind. But when he'd asked for directions after receiving his packet of information, which was stuffed into one of the many pockets of his coat, it hadn't been to his apartment but to the ocean.

There was no ship under his boots but the sea still felt more at home then any bar or apartment could. He'd found an old dock that seemed abandoned and was sitting on it's end, drinking from a bottle of rum that he'd 'liberated' from one of the bars he'd frequented since arriving. Finally, he was starting to feel a bit more at peace, a bit more himself. This was far closer to home then he'd been in a while, or at least as close as he could be without the Jolly Roger or Emma.

His eyes were so drawn to the horizon that he was pretty much oblivious to anything else.

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[paythetoll]

She'd lost track of the days.

As deep down as she could go, Ursula had made a cozy little home for herself on the bottom of Darrow's ocean. It wasn't the deep, dark, cold she longed for, but it was enough. Enough to remind her who she really was, and where she really belonged. She stretched her tentacles, gossiped with the fish, longed for a kingdom to call her own. But in those long hours, she realized that perhaps she didn't need to look further than the shores of Darrow for subjects to rule.

When she finally crawled out of the sea, wearing the girlish face she'd become accustomed to over the last two years, she came upon a stranger.

Trident in hand, she arched a brow, her lilac dress sparkling with beads of sea water. "Looking for someone?"

[itsapirateslife]

The sudden voice caused him to look over, a confused frown on his face. Hook hadn't heard anyone approaching but then he had been distracted and the amount of rum in his blood stream was nearing a high level even for him.

A girl came out of the sea with a trident. It didn't even phase him, even with as much rum as he'd had.

"A way out of this realm perhaps." Then he smiled an easy grin. "I could be looking for you, if you like, luv."

[paythetoll]

Of course, the very first thing she'd done with the trident had been to focus its energy on the barrier keeping them in Darrow.

Not a dent. Not a scratch. Nothing. Nadda. What a waste of good magic.

"Oh, could you, now? I might let you, depending upon what you have to offer in return," she said, her eyes pulsing a vivid shade of purple.

[itsapirateslife]

A ha. He wasn't drunk enough to miss the pulse of purple in her eyes. A magical being. Hook knew he'd have to stumble over one eventually. It was just his dumb luck. He had searching for her after all.

"You have magic as well as beauty, fair lady. I have in fact been looking for you." He stood up, on the second try, and jumped down into the sand near where she stood. "I can offer you whatever you wish." He'd made himself a servant to far greater beings then her in his search for revenge, that he was sure. He'd do it again to get back to his ship.

[paythetoll]

"That's quite a promise," she said, arching one perfectly groomed brow, laughter bubbling up in her throat.

"I don't know you, of course, but if I had to hazard a guess, to your nature, I'd say you were nothing but a drunkard."

She drew herself closer, touching the tip of one finger to his chin.

"What possible use could a common drunkard be to me?"

[itsapirateslife]

"Appearances can be deceiving, m'lady." Hook said in a tone that was far more sober tone then before, a habit only his years as a pirate could give him. "A pirate can accomplish more drunk then a normal man dead sober."

He grinned and twisted his hook in the moonlight. "And I have more talents then you'd guess." Not that he was going to outright offer what his hook could do magic wise, but it was there if he needed it. Anything to get back home, no matter how much taking a heart twisted his stomach.

[paythetoll]

"A pirate without a ship?" she said, her lips turning down in a pouting frown, "What a shame."

Her eyes fell to the hook, then, her brow arching with curiosity. "And what's this lovely little piece of hardware?"

[itsapirateslife]

"You don't know the half of it." Hook said despite himself, trying not to let his melancholy on the subject show. He'd fell incomplete until he as reunited with his ship...or so he kept telling himself.

As her eyes fell upon it, Hook held out his hook. "My trademark, m'lady. People fear a pirate captain, especially one with a weapon in place of a hand."